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Kelly Ripa's Tough-Love Parenting Moment

I never fully appreciated my parents' tough love parenting style throughout my childhood until I had to start navigating this crazy world on my own. Kelly Ripa seems to know what I'm talking about.

In a recent interview on The Wendy Williams Show, Ripa shared a recent argument she had with her 13-year-old daughter, Lola, over being on her phone during designated study hours.

The co-host of Live With Kelly and Michael showed no remorse over taking away her daughter's phone and computer privileges as a result of her misbehaving, and admitted that she monitors her children's activity online.

"We will give you certain freedoms," Ripa said of her and husband Mark Consuelos' parenting, "but when you want privacy in a not private world... you can't have privacy and be on Instagram."

This is a battle most parents have had with their tech-addicted kids of all ages. With children getting phones and computers earlier, it is becoming more important than ever to start monitoring Internet and cellphone usage at a younger age.

But maintaining strict tech rules isn't always easy. My mother had a "no phones at the table" policy during family meals, but she didn't learn until after I went to college that when I got my first cellphone at age 13, I taught myself how to text under the table without looking at the keys so that I could keep talking to my friends.

However, if my mother hadn't had any regulations, I would have never left my computer and interacted with anyone at all. Her rules helped me to learn to the benefits of putting down the phone or logging off of the computer and interacting with real people in real time.

What can Kelly Ripa's showdown with her teen daughter teach us? Parents should feel comfortable with routinely checking what their children post and how much of their day is spent online, as well as administering proper discipline, like loss of tech privileges, when disobeyed.

When asked if using strict rules caused her daughter to dislike her, Ripa made a statement that perfectly explains why watchful parents don't need to defend their decisions.